Ohio
As Ohio State football fans fume over noon kickoffs, Fox counts eyeballs and money
A reminder to Ohio State football fans who attend games: You don’t much matter. At least not to TV networks.
Let’s dive into the current hullabaloo over OSU having too many noon kickoffs. The Buckeyes are in the midst of six consecutive nooners, which has not happened since … ever? More on that in a moment, but first to the issue at hand: Fox Sports loves noon games, while some/many fans who attend games do not. Who wins? Fox, of course. Money always wins.
It’s not just an OSU thing. Two weeks ago, Penn State fans took to social media to vent about the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions kicking off at noon instead of in prime time. Fans also showed up at ESPN’s GameDay, which was at State College despite ESPN not broadcasting the game, to protest the game time. The target of their NSFW chants? Fox, which selected the game for its Big Noon Saturday broadcast because of the likelihood of strong ratings, which typically average close to 7 million viewers. Makes sense. The game between No. 3 Penn State and No. 4 Ohio State pulled in 9.4 million viewers.
As the Big Ten’s primary rights holder, Fox gets first dibs in the annual network draft that determines kick times, and always chooses Ohio State vs Michigan. Fox, CBS and NBC then take turns choosing teams, and because Ohio State is a top brand, the Buckeyes often get picked by Fox for Big Noon Kickoff. But not always, because the “draft” process means Fox does not have complete control over which teams it gets to televise. Fox did get first choice in picking the Buckeyes for four noon games, but last week’s Purdue game “fell” to them, and the network was only too happy to make it a Big Noon Kickoff.
FOX president of insights and analytics Mike Mulvihill told The Athletic that “There’s a belief that prime time is somehow inherently better (than noon), but that’s not really matched up by the analysis.”
Noon games typically do better than prime time, Mulvihill said, adding, “It’s our job to put the schools that we’re partners with in front of as many people as possible. If we can provide our schools as much exposure as possible, that should not just benefit Fox, but that should benefit those programs. What we’ve found over the last six years is that it’s very clear that putting our best game on at noon is what delivers the biggest audiences for these games.”
This week’s OSU game at Northwestern is at noon on the Big Ten Network, 61% of which is owned by Fox. The Buckeyes finish the regular season at home against Indiana (noon on Fox) and Michigan (noon on Fox). Were the Hoosiers 2-8 instead of 10-0, Fox would not have chosen the game for its Big Noon Saturday. Originally, the Indiana game was scheduled to appear on the Big Ten Network, but as the season unfolded and the Hoosiers kept winning, Fox swapped IU-OSU with Northwestern-OSU and made the Buckeyes and Hoosiers their Big Noon Saturday game, while moving the Ohio State-Northwestern game to BTN.
Then there is this: Ohio State and Michigan have stipulations in their TV deals with Fox, CBS and NBC that prohibit the networks from scheduling the schools at night in the final three games of the regular season, a source confirmed to the Dispatch. The Buckeyes and Wolverines could choose to accommodate a request to play a late-season night game — and OSU did so last Nov. 11, playing Michigan State at 7:30 p.m. on NBC — but neither program has been especially receptive to the idea. Maybe that changes for Ohio State under athletic director Ross Bjork, who in his previous job as AD at Texas A&M was more used to playing night games closer to Thanksgiving, but former OSU AD Gene Smith leaned against it.
Given OSU’s reservations about playing late-season night games, next week’s Indiana game never stood much chance of starting after sundown. If Buckeyes fans want to complain about not having enough night games, at least after Daylight Savings Time ends, maybe take it up with Ohio State.
Part of me wonders what the fans’ big stink is with noon games. I don’t recall complaints prior to 1985, when almost every game kicked at 1 p.m. Then again, fans had nothing to compare early afternoon kicks to; the first night game was not until 1985 and 3:30 p.m. games were not yet a thing. Now that Buckeye Nation has experienced the increased excitement of night games, noon kicks can feel like snoozers by comparison. And the last thing Ohio Stadium needs is more yawning spectators.
Who wants to watch a game in freezing temperatures?
Positives? Noon games mean higher temperatures – no fun in September but welcomed in November – and allow many Ohio travelers to return home before dark.
Some of the complaints about noon game include:
∎ Less time to tailgate. It’s apparently not enough to suck down breakfast screwdrivers (or mimosas, in the chichi stadium lots); fans want more time to party.
∎ There is a school of thought that says “hydrated” crowds bring more enthusiasm to the Shoe. A later game also quells the stress of having to rush out the door at dawn to make kickoff.
∎ Slightly more challenging for recruiting. Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Tuesday that “I’ve got to deal with a lot of fan backlash for other things than the times of games, so I’m going to leave that for other people to deal with.” But Day added that noon games can make it more difficult for out-of-state recruits to attend.
Is 3:30 p.m. the sweet spot to make most fans happy?
It’s not OSU’s call, but 3:30 p.m. feels like the sweet spot in kickoff times; not too early to require long-haul travelers to rise before dawn and not too late to turn the Horseshoe into a Baby Boomer morgue.
A 60-something friend of mine explained that “Noon kills the whole day. I’m so tired after that I need a nap. 3:30 is about the best. You can get something done early before heading to campus. I’m old, so night games are hard to dress for. Too warm or too cold? And driving a bike or car in the dark after a beer or two isn’t ideal.”
Fox hears your complaints, whining, whatever you want to call it. But the network is more concerned with eyeballs on screens than butts in seats. When it comes to kickoff times, football fans need to get with the program. The TV program.
roller@dispatch.com
Get more Ohio State football news by listening to our podcasts
GIRARD, Ohio (WKBN) – Over 100 athletes came together for the 5th Annual Trumbull County Special Olympics Invitational Saturday morning in Girard.
These athletes represent five different schools across Trumbull County to compete and spread the message of inclusion, achievement, and sportsmanship.
The Invitational continued its long-standing tradition of honoring the legacy of Randy Suchanek while celebrating the dedication and accomplishments of Special Olympics athletes throughout the region.
“You can hear all the excitement for this, for the athletes that are here today,” said superintendent Bryan O’Hara. “They work hard all year long to participate. We’ve always worked hand in hand with the rotary to get this accomplished is a lot of work behind the scenes.”
Participating schools included Ashtabula, Geauga, Columbiana, Kent-Portage and Trumbull Fairhaven
“There’s a lot of nice participation from girard students as you see behind us, and a lot of participation from the community helping out,” Girard-Liberty Rotary co-president Andy Kish added.
O’Hara added that the event keeps everything in perspective, seeing the athletes compete in the spirit of fun, along with the courage and determination that they show.
Alex Sorrells contributed to this report.
Out of prison, Indiana’s caviar king back on Ohio River to find fishing holes taken
David Cox, of English, Indiana, says once he began setting his nets again after a two-year prison sentence and a three-year ban on commercial fishing, all of his once-secret spots were taken.
Can you eat fish from the Ohio River?
In 1975, future presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, then governor of Massachusetts, bet 20 pounds of New England cod that the Red Sox would defeat the Reds in the World Series. If things went south for Boston, Ohio governor James Rhodes promised to send Dukakis 10 pounds of Lake Erie perch and 10 pounds of Ohio River catfish. The Reds ended up winning and the cod was sent to the Convalescent Home for Children, in Cincinnati.
At the time, people were still eating catfish from the Ohio without too much concern. The fish were also served at several restaurants along the river.
There were warnings in 1977
But two years later, in 1977, The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission released the results of a study of contaminants found in the tissues of Ohio River fish. They warned anglers in cities such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, Wheeling and Gallipolis that man-made chemicals known as PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, had been discovered in the river fish. Later, high concentrations of mercury were discovered in the fish, too.
Thanks to the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the environmental regulations that followed, the river is now cleaner than it was in the seventies. And it’s still teeming with a variety of fish, including catfish, striped bass, drum and black bass, among other species.
But even though PCBs were banned by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1979, they are still found in fish, since they remain in the sediment in the bottom of the river. “Organisms live in the sediment and fish feed on them,” Rich Cogen, the executive director of the Ohio River Foundation told The Enquirer. Mercury is also a big problem, according to Cogen.
So the question is: Can you eat fish caught in the Ohio River?
The short answer is yes. But it depends on what species you are eating and where along the river you caught it.
There are also very strict limitations on how frequently you should eat them, according to the web site for the Ohio Sport Fish Consumption Advisory, part of the Ohio Department of Health.
In areas of the river between the Belleville Lock, located 204 miles downstream from the river’s origins in Pittsburgh, to the Indiana border, the advisory agency currently recommends consuming Ohio River fish no more than once a month max. That area includes Adams, Brown, Clermont, Gallia, Hamilton, Lawrence, Meigs and Scioto counties.
Here’s where to check
Recommendations change throughout the year, but you can keep up by visiting the Ohio Department of Health’s Sport Fish Consumption Advisory page, which provides updated information on when certain fish, usually bottom feeders such as carp, are deemed too dangerous to eat at all.
Here’s who should take a pass on Ohio River fish
The agency also warns that people who are more likely to have health effects from eating contaminated fish, includingchildren younger than 15 years old, pregnant women and women who are planning to become pregnant to avoid Ohio River fish altogether.
Just because you have to limit the amount of fish you eat, doesn’t mean the river is a bad place for fishing, as long as you limit your intake or do catch-and-release fishing. Just make sure you have a proper fishing license before casting your line.
Have a question for Just Askin’? Email us.
The Just Askin’ series aims to answer the questions that no one seems to have an answer for, except maybe Google.
Do you have a question you want answered? Send it to us at justaskin@enquirer.com, ideally with Just Askin’ in the subject line.
It isn’t over until it’s over. That’s the case for both the UCLA Bruins football program recruiting and for quarterback Brady Edmunds. Edmunds is currently committed to head to Ohio State but he took a visit from UCLA offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy earlier this week.
Kennedy met Edmunds on Thursday despite the fact that the quarterback has been committed to the Buckeyes since December of 2024 but could the UCLA Bruins be making a run at flipping the quarterback?
Edmunds has only had an official visit with Ohio State but could UCLA heave a heat check on the 6’5” quarterback? New UCLA head coach Bob Chesney is off to an unbelievable start to his recruiting with the Bruins and flipping a recruit of Edmunds’ caliber would be his most impressive move yet.
247 Sports has Edmunds as the No. 16 quarterback in the class, which would give UCLA a clear predecessor for Nico Iamaleava whenever the Bruins current starting quarterback decides to head to the professional level.
It’d be a full circle moment for the Bruins, as Edmunds was originally recruited to Ohio State by former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly, who bailed on UCLA to go run the Buckeyes offense. Ohio State is a great spot for a developing quarterback, as the Buckeyes produce tons of NFL talent, especially at the wide receiver position, which would help Edmunds put up some gaudy numbers in Columbus.
Chesney and the Bruins have geography on their side, Edmunds attends Huntington Beach High School in Southern California, which could potentially become a factor if Edmunds views UCLA as a program on the rise that’d be much closer to his friends and family than out in Ohio.
Time will tell if Kennedy’s visit will make a difference but UCLA’s recruiting has made waves in the first offseason under Chesney and the new regime.
-
Sports45 seconds agoLakers drop Game 3 to Thunder; now one loss from elimination
-
World13 minutes agoIran warns US against attacks on tankers; Israel kills dozens in Lebanon
-
News43 minutes agoBobby Cox, Hall of Fame manager of Atlanta Braves, dies at age 84
-
New York2 hours agoRail tickets to New Jersey World Cup matches will be $105, not $150.
-
Detroit, MI3 hours agoDetroit Tigers lose fifth straight, Kerry Carpenter injured
-
San Francisco, CA3 hours agoFallen tree downs powerlines in SF, delays Muni line
-
Dallas, TX3 hours agoFC Dallas vs Real Salt Lake: Lineup notes 📝
-
Miami, FL3 hours agoYour 2026 Miami Dolphins Draft Picks Expectations